These are the 3 basic areas of personal finance I want to think about in this blog post. If you’re like most people you will think you’re not earning enough, you spend too much and you need to work on giving your money away to church, charity or friends in need.

Earning Money

Doesn’t matter how you phrase it, this is the bringing in of money which means getting a job. Your income, believe it or not is the most important part of the personal finance equation and you have to protect your income if you’re ever going to getting out of dodge.

Spending Money

What do you spend your money on? Groceries, latte’s, rent, loan repayments, fuel, clothes, holidays, miscellaneous expenses. The list goes on and on. The simple truth is that if you are going to be wise with your money you should never be spending more than you earn, nor anywhere close. Dave Ramsey, for instance, would teach that you shouldn’t be spending more than 1/3% of your take home (post tax) pay on home loan repayments otherwise you’ll become ‘house poor’ i.e only able to afford the house but having nothing left over for perks, holidays, little treats and of course giving money.

Giving Money

How do you perform in the giving department? Do you give you charity? Are you generous with your money? Or are you like a lot of people who are sticklers for giving?